“If we want real institutional change, all areas of the Jewish community should seek to foster young leadership”

…if we want real institutional change, all areas of the Jewish community should seek to foster young leadership. In every commencement speech, we hear youth described as our future. This is most certainly true, and, yet, Jewish organizations are loath to act on that dictum. The reason is obvious: No one wants to be usurped and declared redundant, so we hang on, in many cases, as long as possible, and keep the young aspirants for Jewish communal life at bay.

Edgar M. Bronfman and Beth Zasloff, Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008), 177.

Family

“If everyone is related, what does the concept of family mean? Is it so watered-down as to be senseless?”

If everyone is related, what does the concept of family mean? Is it so watered-down as to be senseless?

AJ Jacobs, “Are You My Cousin?”, The New York Times (2 February 2014), SR7.

Jewish Community, Jewish Organizations, Young Adults

“Let’s redirect funds used for fighting anti-Semitism toward Jewish renaissance programs”

…let’s redirect funds used for fighting anti-Semitism toward Jewish renaissance programs. I have publicly stated that it is a waste of the Jewish tax dollar to spend so much money on so-called defense organizations. Anti-Semitism in this country is, for all practical purposes, dead. Yes, there are incidents, but we live in a racist world, and there will always be graffiti and random insults from deranged, sick people. They are a small minority.

Edgar M. Bronfman and Beth Zasloff, Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008), 175.